ship layout and I’ll go over the news?”
Thom nodded, and turned back to the public terminal. They sat in silence, searching through whatever information they could find. After a few more minutes of searching, they started talking.
“I think I have an idea how we can get out of here. We’ll have to wait till we’re underway though.”
“So, the guy we saw yesterday is Herridki Oppai. He won the governorship about six months ago. From the articles at the time it doesn’t look like he had much opposition; he won in a landslide. This talk about the mining dome only started a month or so ago, and man is it vicious. They blame us for their lack of resources. For... well, for just about everything. That was going on for a while before Oppai took office and it has really intensified since then.” She looked up from the terminal and at Thom. “How can they do this? They're just lying to these people. We're not the bad guys. They're the ones that attacked us.”
“Let’s not call it ‘us,’ OK?” he said quietly. She nodded.
“We've always tried to help,” she mouthed “them” and motioned with her head vaguely to the rest of the ship.
“Have we?”
“Are you serious?” Ralla said, looking shocked. “Why... how? Why would we do any of this?”
Thom shrugged.
“I'm just saying, I drove you to that dome. I have a feeling I have a different perspective on the ship than you do.”
“What's that supposed to mean?”
“It’s a big ship, Ralla.”
“Not that big.”
“I'm just saying I've seen some, well, optimistic stories in the Daily.”
“That's not the same thing.”
"Maybe. Maybe not. How would I know? But we can worry about that later. Keep going.”
Ralla, visibly riled, was unsure what annoyed her more: his flippant insinuation about her father and the Council's honesty, or that he had moved on so casually. Or that he was right. They could deal with it later. She finally turned back to her console.
“There’s a lot more. I wish I could just send it to my storage on the Uni .”
“Remember what you can. There’s not a lot of technical info I can dig up, mostly just maps and stuff, but enough for us to find our way around.” Thom leaned over and put the palm of his hand on the deck. “I think the engines are starting up. We may be moving already, which is good. We should keep wandering around, seeing what we can see. We’ll get some dinner later and then hide out when everyone goes to bed. Sound good?”
“What’s your plan?”
“Well, it’s a little complicated.
VIII
They explored the ship, taking mental notes on anything that was remotely interesting. They listened to nearby conversations. The food, being free, kept them eating throughout the day. Each time they ate, they stored what extra they could in their clothing. No one paid them any attention. They were careful not to loiter too long in any one place, and always made it look like they had some place to be. They had a late dinner at the same cafe where they had breakfast, then wandered arm in arm through the nearby park as the area slowly emptied. The shops closed up, and Thom and Ralla took temporary refuge where they had started the day so many hours before. Ralla fell asleep leaning against the back of a restaurant.
Thom woke her several hours later, and in silence they retraced their steps back to the elevator, back down into the long corridor that connected the bays on this side of the ship. Thom checked the identification panels on the doors. Finally, he stopped at one and pressed the adjacent button to open the lock.
The bay was longer than the one they had entered from. Instead of a pool at one end with a gantry crane to remove the subs, this one had a gentle ramp into the water which got progressively deeper until it met a vertical, fully submerged lock on the far side.
There were small craft shaped like arrowheads lined along all the walls and in cradles hung from the ceiling. Those on
Thom nodded, and turned back to the public terminal. They sat in silence, searching through whatever information they could find. After a few more minutes of searching, they started talking.
“I think I have an idea how we can get out of here. We’ll have to wait till we’re underway though.”
“So, the guy we saw yesterday is Herridki Oppai. He won the governorship about six months ago. From the articles at the time it doesn’t look like he had much opposition; he won in a landslide. This talk about the mining dome only started a month or so ago, and man is it vicious. They blame us for their lack of resources. For... well, for just about everything. That was going on for a while before Oppai took office and it has really intensified since then.” She looked up from the terminal and at Thom. “How can they do this? They're just lying to these people. We're not the bad guys. They're the ones that attacked us.”
“Let’s not call it ‘us,’ OK?” he said quietly. She nodded.
“We've always tried to help,” she mouthed “them” and motioned with her head vaguely to the rest of the ship.
“Have we?”
“Are you serious?” Ralla said, looking shocked. “Why... how? Why would we do any of this?”
Thom shrugged.
“I'm just saying, I drove you to that dome. I have a feeling I have a different perspective on the ship than you do.”
“What's that supposed to mean?”
“It’s a big ship, Ralla.”
“Not that big.”
“I'm just saying I've seen some, well, optimistic stories in the Daily.”
“That's not the same thing.”
"Maybe. Maybe not. How would I know? But we can worry about that later. Keep going.”
Ralla, visibly riled, was unsure what annoyed her more: his flippant insinuation about her father and the Council's honesty, or that he had moved on so casually. Or that he was right. They could deal with it later. She finally turned back to her console.
“There’s a lot more. I wish I could just send it to my storage on the Uni .”
“Remember what you can. There’s not a lot of technical info I can dig up, mostly just maps and stuff, but enough for us to find our way around.” Thom leaned over and put the palm of his hand on the deck. “I think the engines are starting up. We may be moving already, which is good. We should keep wandering around, seeing what we can see. We’ll get some dinner later and then hide out when everyone goes to bed. Sound good?”
“What’s your plan?”
“Well, it’s a little complicated.
VIII
They explored the ship, taking mental notes on anything that was remotely interesting. They listened to nearby conversations. The food, being free, kept them eating throughout the day. Each time they ate, they stored what extra they could in their clothing. No one paid them any attention. They were careful not to loiter too long in any one place, and always made it look like they had some place to be. They had a late dinner at the same cafe where they had breakfast, then wandered arm in arm through the nearby park as the area slowly emptied. The shops closed up, and Thom and Ralla took temporary refuge where they had started the day so many hours before. Ralla fell asleep leaning against the back of a restaurant.
Thom woke her several hours later, and in silence they retraced their steps back to the elevator, back down into the long corridor that connected the bays on this side of the ship. Thom checked the identification panels on the doors. Finally, he stopped at one and pressed the adjacent button to open the lock.
The bay was longer than the one they had entered from. Instead of a pool at one end with a gantry crane to remove the subs, this one had a gentle ramp into the water which got progressively deeper until it met a vertical, fully submerged lock on the far side.
There were small craft shaped like arrowheads lined along all the walls and in cradles hung from the ceiling. Those on
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